Merchandise bag and hanger combination



M y 1964 M. SHAPIRO ETAL MERCHANDISE BAG AND HANGER COMBINATION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 28, 1963 INVENTORS MORRIS SHAPIRO LEONARD LEVY May 12, 1964 M. SHAPIRO ETAL MERCHANDISE BAG AND HANGER COMBINATION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 28, 1963 INVENTORS MORRIS SHAPIRO LEONARD LEVY United States Patent 3,132,742 MERCHANDISE BAG AND HANGER C(lh IBINATION Morris Shapiro, Piainview, and Leonard Levy, Elmont,

N.Y., assigmors to Service Poly-Pair, Inc, New York County, N.Y.

Filed Get. 28, B63, Ser. No. 319,233 Ciairns. (Cl. 206-4534) This invention relates to the combination of a merchandise bag and hanger and particularly, but not exclusively, to a garment bag and a hanger therefor.

By way of illustration, this invention is applicable to transparent plastic bags for blouses, skirts, sweaters and other articles of wearing apparel. These garments may be displayed in retail establishments in various ways, for example, on counters, shelves and racks. As is well known, counter-displayed goods become shopworm during a relatively short period of time, with consequent damage and loss to the store. Shelf-displayed goods are largely protected against such damage, but they are not advantageously expose/.1 to prospective customers. Rack-displayed goods, like counter goods, are generally subjected to relatively rough treatment by the public and, again, a shopworn condition results in a comparativelyshort period of time. Moreover, displaying garments on racks generally requires that the garments be removed from their respective packages, that they be unfolded or opened up, and that they then be placed upon garment hangers. Reference is here made to blouses, skirts, and many other garments which are individually packaged in folded condition. Aside from the bother and expense which such operations entail, the fact that the packaging performs a very significant function, namely, protecting the contents, and when the contents are removed from their respective packages, they are automatically exposed to damage.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of combination means for packaging garments of the character described, and hanging them on display racks Without removing the garments from their respective packages. not require hanging from racks, and it will be fully understood that this is merely a preferred use of the invention for which the invention is particularly designed. Packaged garments in accordance with the present invention may Needless to say, the present invention does also be displayed on counters and shelves, and in any i other conventional manner.

Briefly stated, the present invention comprises a trans parent plastic bag which is open at the top, reinforced at the top, and provided with a plurality of openings in its reinforced open top to receive a hanger adapted to support the bag on a conventional rack. In the preferred form of this invention, the hanger is made of cardboard or any other inexpensive material, so that it may be deemed as disposable as the bag itself. However, the invention is not limited to the use of such inexpensive hanger, and it will be understood that the bag which is herein described and claimed may equally as well be supported on a conventional garment hanger.

Among the advantages of the present invention are the following:

(1) A garment may be inserted into the bag through its reinforced open end and no closure is required to seal the opening; mounting the bag :on a garment hanger as herein provided adequately closes the 'bag opening.

(2) The bag and its contents may be hung directly upon a rack, without removing the garment from the bag or unfolding the garment, or in any way handling the garment.

(3) The garment remains protected on the rack, being exposed to view through the transparent bag. A customer may remove the garment from the rack, without removing 3,132,742 Patented May 12, 1964 the garment from the bag. The garment will therefore remain fully protected during the entire period of its display in the store. I

(4) The garment is accessible to a prospective customer who wishes to feel the cloth of which the garment is made. As is well known, many customers prefer to test the quality of textile fabric by the sense of touch, and a fully enclosed and sealed package would preclude such test. In the present case, the garment may easily be reached through the opening at the top of the bag.

(5) The reinforced open end of the bag provides a relmvely strong bag construction which makes for a longer bag life and more adequate protection of its contents.

The invention is illustrated int-he accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a bag and hanger combination made in accordance with the principles of this invention, said bag and hanger being shown in engagement with each other ready to be hung on a clothes rack or the like.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the hanger component thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the 'bag component.

FIGURE 4 is a top end view looking downwardly upon the bag and hanger combination shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse section on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the upper or reinforced end of the bag, and taken on the line 77 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 8 is a side view of a hanger combination in accordance with a second form of this invention.

FIGURE 9 is a side edge view on the line 9 9 of FIGURE 8.

in FIGURE 10.

Referring now to the details of the first embodiment of this invention as illustrated in FIGURES 17,- inelusive, it will be observed that the claimed combination comprises a hanger It and a bag 12, which may be supported on said hanger. Specifically, hanger 10 is a diecut cardboard hanger having the usual hook portion Illa and the usual arm portions ltlb. A pair of notches or scallops 10s are formed in said arm portions to receive the shoulder straps of a garment or the like.

Bag 12 is made of transparent plastic film such as polyethylene which is made by many companies under various trademarks including Polyfilm, produced by Extruders, Inc. Other transparent plastic films are also suitable for the purposes of this invention, including rubber hydrochloride, as for example made and sold under the trademark Pliofilm by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The invention, however, is not limited to any of these materials and they should be construe simply as illustrations.

The construction of the bag is clearly shown in FIG- URES 5, 6 and 7. It will be noted that the side walls 12a and 12b of the bag are of double or two-ply thickmess. The lower closed end is simply a fold or bight 120. The upper open end of the bag consists of a pair of reinforced folded portions 12d and 12:2, respectively. It will be observed that each of these folded portions 12d, lZe consists of four plies, wherein the two outer plies are contiuations of the side walls of the bag and the two inner plies are further extensions of said side walls projecting downwardly between said outer plies. The two side edges 12) and 12g are Welded or heat-sealed together, each seal comprising a four-ply laminate.

It will be understood that suitable adhesive means may be provided to prevent separation of the several plies of the upper portions 12d and 12e and two plies of the wall portions 12a and 12b. This may be done by heat or by means of a solvent or an adhesive, or in any other conventional manner.

It will now be understood that bag 12 is made of tubular material, the longitudinal axis of the tube extending in parallel relation to the upper and lower edges of the bag. The tube is cut transversely of its longitudinal axis to form the side edges 12] and 12g of the bag.

An elongaed slot or opening 14 is formed in the upper multi-ply portions 12d and 122 of the bag, and this slot or opening may be formed by die-cutting or similar means. The shape and dimensions of said opening should correspond to the requirements of the neck portion of hook a of the hanger. The hook is inserted through the opening in the manner shown in FIGURE 1, and the bag and hanger are now combined in accordance with the principles of the present invention. It will be understood that before the hook is inserted into and through the hole, a garment or other article of merchandise may be inserted into the bag and the hook of the hanger may then be passed through said opening. Since the opening is formed in both walls of the bag, the hook in effect ties or pins the two walls together. This closes the upper end of the bag, as is clearly shown in FIG- URE 4 of the drawing.

Turning now to the second form of this invention and FIGURES 8 and 9, it will be observed that the same bag 12 may be employed in conjunction with a wire-type hanger 16. The hanger hook 16a is inserted through the elongated slot or opening 14, and the bag is then supported on said hanger in the same manner as is shown in FIGURE 1. FIGURE 9 shows the upper end of the bag in closed position by reason of its engagement by the hanger.

The third form of the invention as illustrated in FIG- .UURES 10-12 makes use of a wood-type hanger 18 having a wire hook 18a. Bag 20 is similar to bag 12 above described-except that its opening 22 corresponding to opening 14 is generally circular instead of elongated. In

additionybag 20 is provided with a pair of cut-outs 24 through cut-outs 24, while the hook portion is inserted through opening 22. This is a more complicated method of mounting the bag on the hanger, but it is included in the present disclosure to show that the invention is not limited to the single method of combining bag and hanger as shown in FIGURES 1 and 8. In short, various methods may be employed in combining the bag and hanger to support the bag on the hanger and to close the normally open upper end of the bag.

The foregoing is illustrative of preferred forms of the invention, and it Will be understood that these forms may be modified and other forms may be provided within the broad scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A merchandise bag and hanger combination of the character described comprising a bag adapted to receive merchandise, said bag being open at the top and having at least one pair of registering holes formed in its side walls adjacent its open top end, and a hanger having ahook and a pair of arm portions, said hooks projecting through said openings and holding said open top end closed, said arms supporting said bag on said hanger.

2. A merchandise bag and hanger combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bag is made of transparent plastic film, reinforced along its open top end in the upper portions of its side walls, said openings being formed in said reinforced upper wall portion.

3. A merchandise bag and hanger combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bag is made of trans parent plastic film, said bag consisting of a pair of multi-ply side walls terminating at their upper ends in multi-ply reinforced portions, said openings being formed in said multi-ply reinforced portions.

4. A merchandise bag and hanger combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the registering openings in the side walls of the bag are elongated in a horizontal direction to accommodate the shape of the hook portion of said hanger.

5. The merchandise bag and hanger combination of claim 1 wherein the bag is also provided with a pair of holes formed in its side edges, said side edge holes receiving the arms of the hanger while the hook of said hanger projects through the registering holes in the side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,751,071 Goldband June 19, 1956 

1. A MERCHANDISE BAG AND HANGER COMBINATION OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED COMPRISING A BAG ADAPTED TO RECEIVE MERCHANDISE, SAID BAG BEING OPEN AT THE TOP AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF REGISTERING HOLES FORMED IN ITS SIDE WALLS ADJACENT ITS OPEN TOP END, AND A HANGER HAVING A HOOK AND A PAIR OF ARM PORTIONS, SAID HOOKS PROJECTING THROUGH SAID OPENINGS AND HOLDING SAID OPEN TOP END CLOSED, SAID ARMS SUPPORTING SAID BAG ON SAID HANGER. 